Old Habits
by ink and ashes
Summary: After thirty years of waiting, Seras is overjoyed when her sire returns. Unfortunately, a few misconceptions keep her from giving him a proper welcome. Post manga.


**WARNING: **A few manga spoilers. Some sexual activity, but no lemons. Un-beta'd, written on the fly, still feeling out the characters.

**OLD HABITS**

Of the many faults she possessed lay one of the few even her Master had never glimpsed; if he had, he had never commented on it. Then again, Master had been able to read her like an open book before he'd disappeared, so it was quite possible that he'd known of it and had never bothered to correct it, viewing it as a hopeless cause. After all, she'd never met another vampire with a sense of romanticism.

Either way, she could not help the note of embarrassment she felt upon seeing him again, mortified that she'd interrupted a private moment.

Her first reaction was to hug him until he pulled her off of him or the world came crashing down around them. She wanted to run to him as he healed from the rounds Integra had pumped him with, wanted to cry and jump and laugh and maul him in her undiluted joy. The urge was strong, overpowering, but she kept herself in check before she did something stupid to displease him; after three decades in his absence, she did not want him irritated the second he'd returned to her. To _them_, she corrected, glancing over at the aged Integra Hellsing, who still sat in her bed. Thankfully, Integra had dropped the gun she'd used on Alucard, but there was a speck of disbelief behind the woman's spectacles, as if she could not believe what she was seeing. While Seras had never doubted her Master, she wasn't sure if Integra had held the same confidence.

_"Go with our master. Go and conquer, Seras."_

Three decades and he hadn't changed, while she was different in so many ways. "I'll, er… I-I'll be in my room," she stuttered, quickly phasing through the floor before either of them could question her.

Alucard had always sneered at her steadfast refusal to discard her humanity and all of the quirks that came with it, but even after drinking fresh human blood and embracing her new life, there were still characteristics she could not shed. _Thoughts _she could not shed. Amongst them was the nervous anticipation that clenched in the pit of her stomach whenever she saw him, the want to make him proud, the desperate need to please him. In the time since she'd seen him last, she'd thought she had quelled those skittish tendencies of hers. She covered her face when she'd made it safely to what had once been her Master's chambers, sighing into her hands. _Maybe_, she thought with some chagrin,_ I haven't changed at all._

It was very telling that Integra was the first person Alucard had sought upon his arrival, going so far as to scare the wits out of the Hellsing heir while she slept. There was a part of Seras that was hurt, but another part warred against that emotion, the hopeless romantic in her soothing the bitter sting of rejection and focusing on the facts.

She wondered if her idle imaginings from so long ago had been correct. It certainly seemed that way; Master and Integra had always had a strange relationship, one she could understand most times, and she'd assumed there was something she was missing, buried beneath the masks they used in public. More than once, Seras had witnessed strange little "moments" between the two of them, had gotten the same feeling she had now: a child who had walked into something that should have only been shared between "Mommy" and "Daddy". It was amusing and painful at the same time and she had no idea why, though she had her suspicions. As much as they made sense together, as much as she kept imagining them several floors above in their happy reunion, it was difficult to place Alucard in the role of her father.

He was her Master and she adored him. He was her mentor, her guide, her sanctuary, her leader. One word from him and she'd comply without question, destroying the Earth itself if he wished it so. He was her worst critic and she hated him for it, but she loved him even more. He was Alucard, the penultimate of Nosferatu, the Lord of Shadows, the No-Life King, and his strength was unsurpassed, his power staggering. He filled her with awe, his very presence inspiring her to greater heights. He was everything to her and having him back was like the first drop of blood after years of starvation, but he could never be her father.

When tears pricked her eyes, she forced herself to get a grip. One went rogue and fell down her cheek, a line of red on her pale skin, and she rubbed it away as best as she could.

With a breath she didn't need, she straightened and looked around the room, trying to remember if she'd left anything of hers within. These quarters belonged to Master and would always be such, but she'd taken to sleeping here daily, if only to comfort herself during those moments before slumber took her when she was at her weakest. It was pointless, she knew, as she was sure Alucard would smell her as soon as he entered his room, would catch her scent in his coffin. He was going to be furious with her, he was going to berate her for entering his private domain, and she did not have to make it worse by littering his space with her belongings.

Thirty years was a long time. It would feel weird sleeping in her own coffin again, but she swatted at the errant thought, reminding herself that he was _here _and that was all that mattered. Had she moved his coffin? Had she replaced anything? She was confident that she hadn't thrown anything away, but she conducted a thorough investigation anyway, hoping that Integra would distract Alucard just a little while longer while she made sure.

"Seras."

Caught by surprise, she squeaked and dove through the wall, uncaring where it led her. If she still had a pulse, it would have fluttered like a hummingbird's wing.

_He saw me_, she cried internally, tumbling headfirst into her own chambers. _He saw me!_ She collided with her bureau, the loud collision echoing ominously. It hurt like hell and she could feel her fractured skull already knitting itself together, though the poor bureau had been reduced to a pile of splintered wood and clothes. She rubbed her throbbing head, dismayed and rattled.

How was she going to explain to Sir Integra about the dresser?

How was she going to explain to her Master about her invasion of his room?

She covered her face and groaned. Weren't he and Integra supposed to be catching up? Surely, after thirty years, the two of them would have dropped the charade and done something, right? She was virtually clueless about what went on between the sheets aside from the nightmares she still occasionally got about her mother—and she was intelligent enough to know the difference between rape and consensual sex—but whatever involved Alucard and Integra had to be longer than, what, five minutes? Or had she been lost in her thoughts for longer than that? And surely, he wouldn't return to his room immediately after. _Damn it_, she grimaced, a little sickened by the images in her brain.

How could this possibly get any worse?

"Seras."

She squeaked again, blindly diving through the wall once more. He'dfollowed her? Why had he followed her? This time, she did not hit anything but the cold floor, rolling to a crouch. Aggravation made her fangs elongate when she realized she'd landed right back in her Master's room. _Damn it, _she cursed again. Quickly, she stood and moved towards the door, ready to run for her life. _This is ridiculous_.

An arm around her waist cut off her retreat. "'Ridiculous' does not begin to describe this." The voice was heavy with its own aggravation.

Her spine collided with his chest when she tried to take off again. He held her to him tightly, quieting her brief struggle, and she wanted to die. Was death by embarrassment feasible? As she felt her cheeks flood with color, she was convinced it might. "M…" Her throat was tight, every nerve in her body buzzing with electricity, concentrating on every bit they touched. _Get a grip. He's going to kill me._ She parted her lips to explain, to say something, _anything_, but her voice would not work. _I hope he makes it quick. _Her senses were overloaded, completely surrounded by his aura, his scent, his body, _him_. Some part of her shut down for a millisecond while the other worked double time until she could remember how to function again, how to behave properly in front of her Master. _Not that I ever knew how, before. _Still, she didn't recall ever having this kind of reaction in her younger years.

His nose was in her hair and when he spoke, she could feel his mouth moving. Her stomach clenched at the sensation. "Relax."

She instantly sagged against him at the command, boneless and suddenly very tired. She could not remember why she'd been so frantic to begin with.

"Good. Now, why are you running from me?"

It all came flooding back and she instinctively tensed. His grip tightened, bringing his arm upward, unintentionally exposing her midriff. She held still, if only so that he'd lower his limb; whether or not he realized it, he was brushing the curve of her bosom and any chance of a coherent conversation with him flew out of the proverbial window. _Integra_, she thought, projecting the name until her mind caught on and stopped flailing around. She had to remember Integra and her Master and whatever they'd been doing for however long before he'd caught her in his room. _I don't even make sense anymore._

He sighed, ruffling a few tendrils of her hair. His other arm lifted, bringing a long, fluffy object into her view. "Does this look familiar?"

It did and she wanted to die again. She knew she'd forgotten something, but she hadn't even thought of her pillow. How could she have left something like that in his coffin? "I-I can explain," she managed, snatching the item from his hands and hugging it to her chest. In actuality, she could _not_ explain, but it was all that tumbled off of her tongue.

"Can you?" There was humor in his tone. "Because all I see is some nonsense about Integra and one very frightened kitten."

She froze. He could read her mind. _He could read her mind_. She'd forgotten that little gem, too. Hopeless, she covered her face with the pillow and let out the bastard child of a moan and a scream. Was it a sob? Thirty goddamned years and she was acting worse than a newborn fledgling. She slumped, inadvertently pushing his arm further into her breasts. "I'm so sorry, Master," she cried into the silk material of her pillow, her voice muffled.

"There's nothing to forgive, silly girl. However, I'm offended," he said, though he didn't sound it. "Is this any way to greet your sire?"

She'd only heard the words, not the tease, and sputtered. "Wha…? _No!_ I mean," she lowered her voice, her shout ringing in her ears. "I missed you, Master."

He chuckled. "I know." She heard the faint pop of a button, her shirt looser than it had been before. His unencumbered hand danced along the top of her skirt, the tip of one finger dipping beneath the fabric to venture lower. Time stopped for an instant and another button joined the first. She dropped the pillow. "And yet, you made me chase you down." Another button gone. That treacherous finger toyed with the elastic of her panties. "You're fortunate I can hear your thoughts, else I fear you would have given me the wrong impression."

She did not know what she was supposed to do. This was not what was supposed to happen. In fact, she'd convinced herself that something like this was just some girlish fantasy all fledglings had when their sires were as handsome and powerful as hers; unfortunately, she doubted any other vampire had Dracula himself as their master, and so did not understand how irresistible he was. Or maybe they did, but could not understand why she'd fallen for him. These emotions were purely human—that she knew of—and she'd convinced herself early on that he'd detest them, even mock her for them. Then, she'd figured that he was set on Integra. She'd even convinced herself that she'd enjoy the two of them together, although the combination of the two could prove catastrophic, if it turned out badly.

He ripped the last of the buttons from her uniform and flicked a thumb over an exposed nipple.

Her cerebral functions shut down, her body on fire.

He bit her ear, still teasing. A delicious shiver went down her spine. "Did you really think," he whispered, "you could keep any secrets from me?"

Were it not for their bond, she was pretty certain she could have. Not that it really mattered. She twisted her head to peer over her shoulder and he seized the opportunity, claiming her mouth with his own. The rest of her turned in his arms, pressing against him with a fervor she had not imagined could exist. He did not seem to mind, swallowing her little mewls as he led her to his coffin.

_I guess this means he's not mad about my sleeping habits._

_ No_, came his voice, answering her stray thought. _I'm encouraging them. I hope you don't mind a few… modifications._

As it turned out, she didn't.

**X X X**

_"Interesting."_

_ Integra, still disheveled, frowned at him. "What is?"_

_ He did not answer her for a long moment, still staring at the spot his fledgling had stood, pensive. He reached out and found her in the dungeons below, scanning through her mind like pages of a book. "The night I turned Seras," he said, a grin slowly growing on his face. "You gave me an order."_

_ The Hellsing heir stiffened. "I said many things," she deflected. _

_ "I'd like you to rescind it." _

_ She sighed in disgust. Her eyes closed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "It's far too early for this discussion and I'm far too tired to think about it," she admitted._

_ He was not fazed. "It's a simple request."_

_ "Men," she muttered, shaking her head in disbelief. "All these years and _that's _the first thing on your mind?"_

"_You're forgetting that I came to see you first, Master." If possible, his grin grew wider._

_She waved a hand in dismissal. "Fine. Do whatever you'd like with her, so long as she stays in one piece and you keep the noise down." She paused. "And absolutely _no_ babies."_

_He phased through the floor and as his cackle echoed in her bedchamber, Integra had a feeling she'd regret this in the morning._

_As it turned out, she did._


End file.
